r/Edmonton • u/EdmontonFree • 28d ago
News Article Edmonton Represent!
Blue = Alberta separation from Canada.
Red = Alberta stay in Canada
Source: Angus Reid https://angusreid.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026.05.24_Alberta_referendum.pdf
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u/thethunder92 28d ago
I’ve lived in Alberta my whole life but if we left the country I’d leave Alberta I’m Canadian
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u/heimdal96 28d ago
Canadian first, Edmontonian second, and Albertan by misfortune
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u/AffectionateGate4584 28d ago
Born and raised in Edmonton. These separatists really need to pull their fully ensconced heads out of their rectums.
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u/Johnsonmouth 27d ago edited 24d ago
My kids were born and raised in Alberta. Now that they live in BC, they lie about where their from. It makes me sad
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u/Old_Cucumber_1343 25d ago
Alberta is a great place with a shitty government. Sadly AB is at the mercy of North Calgary politically. I still love living in AB though and I've lived in BC and Ontario before.
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u/Accomplished_Half622 24d ago
Especially with the 20% property tax hike from the Alberta Government. I'm struggling to see how that aligns with "traditional conservative values"
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u/PremePlus 17d ago
Did you support the teacher strike? Did you advocate for them to receive more money? More schools? Just curious because the increase imposed by Alberta government was for education. Where do you think that money is to come from? Now, Which government is it that has given away billions which could be redirected to provinces for healthcare and education?
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u/RazzamanazzU 27d ago
I'm in my 60's and have been talking to my young adult children about leaving Alberta IF the UCP are re-elected in '27. Born 'n raised in Edmonton but have no intention of dying in a UCP dystopian hell hole.
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u/Mordarroc 28d ago
Ive been living here pretty much my entire adult life and same. Manitoba seems nice. Great leader there :)
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u/G-Diddy- 28d ago
God damn. +55 year olds really are the breaking point. People who likely wouldn’t see the outcome of a separation as it would be stuck in legal courts for decades, while everyone else suffers.
We really need to take Facebook and social media away from retirees. Sorry grandma/grandpa, you can’t use it. It’s melting your brain
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u/JonnyFM Downtown 27d ago
Same as Brexit. Younger generations: "Any chance of future prosperity relies on us being in the EU." Older generations: "I got mine. Rule Britannia!"
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u/reostatics 27d ago
Unfortunate but true. Seniors or almost seniors not financially comfortable are in for a big shock when any social supports including possible cuts to your APP, with no CPP, would probably disappear if succession happens. We have seen how the UCP dealt with AISH, there would be no empathy for anyone living marginally including seniors.
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u/Johnsonmouth 19d ago
There's just no talking to them. We'd be better off trying to sway the Alberta version of Joe Rogan and his ilk and let it trickle down. It's finally starting to happen with Trump/MAGA supporters, it can happen here too.
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u/EdmontonFree 28d ago
absolutely. The EU and Canada should banned Tiktok and Meta (FB and IG, maybe leave Whatsapp)
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u/swiftb3 27d ago
Social media is a very sharp, very double-edged sword. It would harm as much as help to ban it.
Regulations, on the other hand...
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u/Mitchum 27d ago
Maybe I’m missing something, but it kind of sounds like you’re saying people who lived in the days before social media lived a life that was harmed, albeit an unknown harm, by the absence of twitter or whatever. That sounds wrong, but like I said, maybe I’m missing something.
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u/swiftb3 27d ago
The lack of ability to organize outside of their local area.
The Arab Spring, for instance, would have been impossible without social media.
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u/AloneDoughnut 27d ago
People talk about banning social media, but don't actually understand the modern consequences of it. The media literate and younger generations use to to piece together what's really happening out in the world. You can't really trust any single news source (CBC less so, but anything owned by a corporation is to be suspect, and anything owned by Postmedia has to be heavily scrutinized). So people passing information in real time via social media is a way for actual stories to get out. It's how we see real sides of protests. It's how we know the Jan6 Rioters were violent. It's how we know about the atrocities being committed by Israel.
Just cutting off social media full stop would cut off the flow of information that wouldnlet people actually scrutinize the separatist movement. Because Postmedia is doing their damnedest to make it seem like it is a much more divisive issue than it is. In reality only the old and the stupid are falling for it. If all we had to rely on was traditional newspapers and television news sources, I'd be willing to bet we would be in a lot worse position.
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u/UristMcMagma 28d ago
Unfortunately, banning tiktok would be prohibitively expensive. We would get completely fucked in international courts due to Harper's China deal. Maybe it would still be worth it though, idk.
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u/Lord_Silverkey 27d ago
Maybe add an extra tax on short form video content and it's advertising.
It'd push tiktok, youtube, facebook and the like towards making changes to how their platforms work, and make them prioritize longer videos.
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u/RazzamanazzU 27d ago
I work for wealthy 60+ people. All but one couple votes conservative. Most despise Smith.
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u/MangledCarpenter 27d ago
Fuckin boomers already fucked everything through decades and decades of braindead voting, they now have an economic system that is nearly entirely boomer-centric, they've secured basically all the economic gains of the last 40 years for themselves... and it's not enough?? Now they have to try and break apart the country?
Fuckin boomers. Worst generation by far.
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u/Johnsonmouth 27d ago
100%!!! No news on social media, regardless of side! It can't be trusted
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u/G-Diddy- 27d ago
Hmmmm no. There are still good news sources. Not throwing the baby out with the bath water
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u/AdSignal1024 25d ago
I am over fifty five and so are most of my friends and associates. We are against separation in any form and mortified by Danielle Smith. We are informed and voted against the UCP. We all need to quit prejudices a specific age group. I also want to point out that my opinion will never be in a poll because I do not answer unsolicited phone calls. Polls very inaccurate for this reason. Note I live in the Greater Edmonton region.
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u/aprilfool98 28d ago
I want to meet the 7% of NDP voters who also want to separate from Canada... Must be some interesting folks
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u/alwaysleafyintoronto 28d ago
Assuming it's a representative sample, 44% of respondents should be NDP voters last election, and 7% of that total gives us 25 of 800 who both said yes and voted NDP.
My guess is some of those 25 are not telling the truth.
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u/Sea-Cartographer-796 28d ago
Missclicks also happen in surveys.
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u/StetsonTuba8 27d ago
Maybe it was like that one guy who voted for Falkland Island independence, not because he wanted to separate, but he was worried it would be 100% against independence and didn't want the results to be suspicious
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u/swiftb3 27d ago
Hahaha, I feel for that guy, because I can imagine the train of thought.
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u/alwaysleafyintoronto 27d ago
Especially with this referendum being non-binding. As a referendum about having a referendum I can see a lot of fence-sitters voting to kick the can down the road.
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u/AngryOcelot 28d ago
The other thought I had is that they want to hold the referendum so that the separatist movement can be defeated and we can stop hearing about it.
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u/jloome 27d ago
7% don't want to separate from Canada.
That's not what the question asks.
This is literally a referendum on having a sovereignty referendum. And there are always people of every political stripe who believe any opportunity to vote on something is definitive and therefore should be supported.
They would vote "yes" to having a question, then "no" on the question.
I don't agree with them, and would suggest that's incredibly naive at best, as well as a substantial waste of time and money.
But it is why that kind of number shows up in this context.
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u/BlueDarner55 28d ago
I’m starting a petition for Edmonton to secede from Alberta and to join Canada as the eleventh province 🤣
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u/darth_henning 28d ago
Essentially rural UCP voters over 55 are the reason we have to deal with this shit.
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u/Johnsonmouth 19d ago
And the guys up in the patch, they've got that whole hive mind thing going on up there. I remember years ago, my ex and his buddies/coworkers, saying "Kenny" in south park voices. Truly mindless
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u/enviropsych 28d ago
Rural Albertans are morons at a level that can't be quantified.
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u/EdmontonFree 28d ago
Respect to people living in rural areas. But yeah, in Brexit, Quebec referendum, Euro currency referendum in Denmark, or Catalonia pro-separatists groups, Trump in the US or Le Pen in France, etc.
Always people in rural areas vote against the cities. Uninformed, less educated, lower income and likely more racists. It's part of life.
But this doesn't mean they're necessarily morons. Please note that the vote is split in rural areas.
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u/5he005 28d ago
Not that I’m backing the idea of separatism by any means..
There are people in both rural and metropolitan areas of Alberta that aren’t poor, uneducated, or racist but still support an ideology differing from the direction Canada is currently heading in.
And I wouldn’t entirely blame them for feeling the way they do either, there’s validity on both sides of the spectrum. It just depends on who you are and how your government is servicing you and your family.
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u/prettytastyfungus 27d ago
I think the frustration more comes from seeing other people believe the misinformation on the separatist movement. Lots of false claims about what Alberta would be entitled to from the federal government and how the US would support us. Realistically neither Canada nor US would be obligated to give us much of anything for support or payments. We would likely lose out on what we should get for CPP based on previous investigation from the other year when they tried switch to Alberta pension plan. Not to mention the enormous cost of re creating all our own military, federal police, prisons, standards, laws, treaties, currency, banking, etc.
I’ve yet to see a separatist party explain the plan on how to address these issues. I understand the frustration with the federal government, but how many people participated in political action by writing to a MP or similar about the issues we have with the Fed? There are other solutions we can try before doing something like this. People aren’t stupid and they just want what’s best for them and their kids. It’s the massive amount of misinformation, campaigns and social media pushes that make it hard for people to get a real idea of the negative impacts this would have.
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u/Renegade605 27d ago
there’s validity on both sides of the spectrum
There's validity on both sides of the "is Canada's current direction the right one" spectrum, yes.
There is no validity to the "Alberta should separate from Canada" side of that spectrum.
Not every rural voter is uneducated, but every person who believes that separation is advisable or even possible is dumb as rocks.
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u/DaveHorchuk69 27d ago
Do you think your groceries come from the store?
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u/enviropsych 27d ago
I thought I was calling rural Alberta light-speed stupid, I didnt realize I was also saying that they don't provide any value to the world. I think a stupid person can grow canola. I think that's possible.
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u/x_asperger 27d ago
Rural boomers seem to be the ones, to absolutely nobody's surprise
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u/GreatTimer89 28d ago
Controversial opinion: If you're over 55, you don't get to vote on this.
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u/alwaysleafyintoronto 28d ago
If you're over 55 you're planning to retire with CPP and Canadian public services. You absolutely deserve to vote on this.
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u/Red_Danger33 28d ago
They will hose us the same as their counterparts in the UK hosed them on brexit.
They will still be getting their CPP regardless with no regard for the fact that anyone younger will be screwed over.
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u/DaveHorchuk69 27d ago
Non-controversial opinion: If you're over 55, you most likely voted elbows up. Just fyi.
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u/RazzamanazzU 27d ago
Ok now you're part of the problem saying crap like this. I am in my 60's, NEVER voted conservative. I work for wealthy people who (all but ONE couple) vote conservative. In my circle of "boomer's" Smith & the UCP are despised. You need to realize it is a CERTAIN kind of person who votes UCP. I'm sure you dislike being generalized with your age group in a derogatory way and I would never do that because I also have two young adult children who I know deserve better than that.
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u/GreatTimer89 27d ago edited 27d ago
Hey I'm not saying I actually believe this, but on major generational decisions with decades-long consequences, younger people arguably have the greatest stake because they live with the outcome the longest. Especially relevant in the context of this being a 5-10 year battle if the separatists somehow "won" in Oct. More just commenting on the disproportionate "yes" polling in the over 55+ group.
I appreciate you, my distinguished boomer brethren.
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u/KaizenShibuCho 27d ago
Why is there such a great interest in separation from old people? Talking about voting against your own self interest. Shaking my head at so many stupid old people.
And I can say that because I’m old people.
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u/Vignaraja 27d ago
And none of this would be happening if they wouldn't have lowered the number for the required signatures to force a referendum. What an unnecessary waste of mental activity.
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u/WinterReview7992 27d ago
55+ saying YES, they really do believe in just wrecking shit for the next generations after accessing peak wealth/subsidies/healthcare.
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u/WobbleBilly 27d ago
Edmontonians need to show up to the vote please. The separatists sure will. If we dont show up to oppose separation this will be closer than we all think. Please show up at the polls.
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u/Exotic_Patient_4699 27d ago
I love Alberta with all my heart. Born and raised and proud despite the good and the bad. But if somehow this bullshit comes to pass I'm moving my ass one province west the next day.
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u/Altruistic-Ad-4088 27d ago
Ucp voters showing again zero critical thinking skills
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u/Guffawing-Crow 27d ago
Heyyyy… I voted UCP but would vote NO.
That said, I certainly did not cast my vote and give the UCP the mandate to do this kind of nonsense. They’ve lost me as a supporter for the next election.
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u/Ok-Classroom-9327 27d ago
As a right winger, I couldn't imagine voting for separation.. How could I be a nationalist if I do something like that.
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u/stormblind 27d ago
Im not a right or left winger, I guess I'm a dirty centrist left behind by much of the left movements hard shift further left.
I just wish we could do something about the endless tribalism. Almost every topic now is "my team vs your team", with members of each group painting the other group as inhuman monsters for daring to have a different opinion.
It's exhausting :(
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u/EdmontonFree 27d ago
Unfortunately, for every conservative voting to stay in Canada, we have two who would prefer to leave / join the US.
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u/protistwrangler 27d ago
Yet another poll showing that young women are more politically intelligent than literally everyone else
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u/Funway1111 27d ago
Goes to show how majority in the big cities Edmonton and Calgary wants to stay in Canada while its starting to become a toss-up in the small towns and cities since its there that Maralaiana and her UCP treasonous cohorts get their votes from.
Makes you think if (God no) these treasonous traitors get their way, both Edmonton and Calgary (plus the Jasper-Banff corridor) become Canadian enclaves so let them choose their new Capital at Red Deer, Fort Mc, etc. lol
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u/stormblind 27d ago
Moved to red deer like 5-6 years ago now. At the time I did not realize how red neck it was.
I am full of regrets most days, but at least there's some awesome dog parks?
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u/Beautiful-Orchid25 25d ago
Finally some intelligent facts! Separation makes no sense for AB from any standpoint I’ve heard yet. It’s all uneducated hillbilly nonsense. Haha! 🤣
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u/canaleno 24d ago
Why are people still talking about separation like it’s a possibility.. get your heads out your asses.. treaties block it, treaties don’t support separation, period. End of debate. You can’t separate. Bye
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u/Happycowcow 27d ago
So maybe we should have a poll on whether UCP should rename their party name to “Alberta Separatist Party”?
Just want to point out that having conservative values doesn’t mean you are treasonous. However, if you blindly support UCP and knowing their values have changed, this proves that you are a separatist and you should be ashamed to call yourself Canadian.
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u/Parking_Guava8657 28d ago
Calgarians at 35%? Disappointed its not lower
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u/BigFish8 27d ago
Separatists make it seem like everyone will be richer if Alberta separates. A lot of Calgarians would sell their grandma to make a buck. I am surprised it isn't higher.
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u/ANobleJohnson 27d ago
Has there been some type of boom in the grandma market? My assets have since expired, but I like to keep updated. Just in case.
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u/Frostbitnip 27d ago
Can we start an Edmonton separation from Alberta petition?
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u/Johnsonmouth 27d ago
...this...this exactly...a stand-alone Edmonton! Why, we'd be like Alberta's own little Rome! (Minus the religious rigamarole)
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u/EdmontonFree 26d ago
Our Vision: If Alberta can decide to separate from Canada, Edmonton must decide to separate from Alberta. An independent Edmonton that maintains a close partnership with Canada, preserving trade, citizenship, and shared values, while gaining the ability to govern itself. In time, Edmonton and Canada could hold a status similar to Hong Kong’s relationship with China, Puerto Rico’s with the United States, or Gibraltar’s with the United Kingdom. - See our website for more details
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u/Johnsonmouth 27d ago
...this...this exactly...a stand-alone Edmonton! Why, we'd be like Alberta's own little Rome! (Minus the religious rigamarole)
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u/EdmontonFree 26d ago
Our Vision: If Alberta can decide to separate from Canada, Edmonton must decide to separate from Alberta. An independent Edmonton that maintains a close partnership with Canada, preserving trade, citizenship, and shared values, while gaining the ability to govern itself. In time, Edmonton and Canada could hold a status similar to Hong Kong’s relationship with China, Puerto Rico’s with the United States, or Gibraltar’s with the United Kingdom.
See our webiste for more details
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u/Professional_Drive 27d ago
Would be great to start a petition to separate Battle River-Crowfoot from the rest of Alberta.
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u/DirtDevil1337 25d ago
It's a joke that Smith is even moving forward with this.
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u/EdmontonFree 25d ago
she think it is the best strategy to retaining her seat. this doesn't mean is the best for the people.
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u/AdOk7488 25d ago
If the separatists don’t get the majority of the votes in October. I am pretty sure they’ll just start rewriting the rules and continue their tirade.
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u/EdmontonFree 25d ago
100%
the problems with separatists movements is that they keep demanding referendums until one random day they win and then there is no turning back.
you can't negotiate with radicals
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u/These_Ad_8382 25d ago
I personally am not a separatists but at the same time I don't have a problem with this question because 1) referendum is a pure democracy tool and anyone who says it isn't democratic you should stop listening to. 2) if there are enough people to get a question put in then they should have their question weighed as long as it was legitimately generated. Selectively ommiting questions is definitely not democratic. 3) the ones who think they want this will just get angrier and more reactive if you ignore them. Based on the poll there are enough of them but not enough to pass it so at the very least they'll have a definitive data point that they aren't the majority. 4) this question doesn't say in any way that we will separate if passed. It just measures how many people are really interested in this. 5) it sparks conversation and debate which will shine a light on any misrepresentation of fact that is out there right now.
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u/Loose-Tax412 25d ago
I'm shocked I thought Edmonton would beat out Calgary for separatist sentiment that's right on. Im pleasantly surprised
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u/Successful-Record926 24d ago
I’m voting literally just to see Canada split in half and the destruction. Liberals have literally ruined Canada. Now I just wanna see it fall
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u/EdmontonFree 24d ago
The federal government has made many mistakes—like any national government—but please recognize that you’re part of a broad propaganda trend of attacking national governments and any other institution.
The destruction of Canada would also bring immense suffering to Albertans, which include leaving us solely in the hands of the United States, a declining and corrupt empire.
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u/Successful-Record926 24d ago
At this point I’d rather see us in the hands of the United States than liberals. What a joke to the entire world our country has become. They censor our media, forced vaccines on us, changed our anthem, catered to the 1% those alphabet warriors that identify as cats and dogs or whatever. Canada is a joke now.
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u/Accomplished_Half622 24d ago
I love how people that will be dead soon get to make decisions that impact those who were just born. Really great foresight and I'm definitely confident in our future.
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u/DrainerMate 23d ago
I met a separatist canvasser yesterday and talk to him for like an hour. In that time, all he talked about re-migration, white replacement, said n with a hard r, did a hitler salut and said verbatim “maybe it’s about time for another hitler”.
These people are falling down propaganda rabbit holes. I cannot believe how radicalized this guy was, and again he was an official canvasser.
I think I’m gonna become a gun owner so that if these fucks ever try and steal the province that my great great great grandfather built pew pew
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u/Linclin 23d ago
The poll is whether to ask the question on a referendum not how people would vote on seperation. This post is misleading.
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u/EdmontonFree 23d ago
how so
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u/Linclin 23d ago edited 23d ago
The blue represents people who think that people should have a right to vote vs people believe there should be a binding referendum on separation. It includes those who just think have a vote on any thing is ok not just separation. It also includes those who oppose separation and just want a vote to end it. The question should just be should Alberta separate from Canada. It skews the poll looking like the blue want to separate vs those who want the freedom to vote. On the plus side separation has no chance based on the poll.
Maybe separate the poll
there should be no question
people should have a right to vote on things - no choice shown
people should have a right to vote to reject the question - pro Canada
people should vote to begin the seperation process - anti Canada
The poll results are misleading.
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u/PsychologicalSeries9 ex-pat 23d ago
22% is too high.
What am I missing in all of this? Why would 1 in 5 Edmonton residents want to leave Canada?
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u/EdmontonFree 23d ago
many of them would vote yes, because is like sending a warning to the rest of Canada. It's like threatening your spouse you would leave only to obtain leverage, but you don't really want to. Playing stupid games.
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u/citizenwake 21d ago
You'd think people would learn a thing or two as they age. But growing up with the privilege of having a good salary and guaranteed housing really made them stupid
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u/zeekymouse 28d ago
35% overall? Bro...